Team Secret (TS) and Global Esports (GE) hit their strides early as they mounted convincing victories in the opening week of Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) Pacific: Stage 2 at the Sangam SOOP Stadium in Seoul.
After major roster and coaching staff overhauls, the two squads featuring Filipino players of the tactical shooter game Valorant headed in the right direction with GE being the first between them to get on the board after fending off Indonesia’s Rex Regum Qeon (RRQ) with a 2-0 sweep last July 19.
Global Esports struck early in the opening map Sunset (13-9) and staged a triple overtime comeback to claim the series in the newest map Summit (16-14).
Filipino in-game leader (IGL) Xavier “xavi8k” Juan led by example with a 42/32/19 kill-death-assist (KDA) scoreline, playing as agent Cypher and then as Astra, with Kyung-won “Udotan” Go alongside, listing 25 of his 44 eliminations as agent Raze in the closing map.
Duelist Maksim “Jemkin” Batorov stuffed the stat sheets for RRQ with a 39/36/9 series KDA and a 225 Average Combat Score (ACS) as Jett and Waylay.
The win marked the team’s improvement on their tenacity, especially after turning around an eight-round deficit to wrap up the series. (See “VCT Pacific: Filipino squads look for rebound after Week 2 misfires” in CoverStory.ph.)
“I’m really proud of them for clawing back on that second game. Some throws but some really good rounds played together as well so at least it kind of balances out in the end,” said head coach Daniel “Platoon” Zhou.
Coaching changes
Zhou was recently appointed from being the squad’s data analyst to head coach, replacing Hector “FrosT” Rosario, who suddenly left to coach the Thailand-based squad Full Sense after GE’s short run in Masters London last June.
Global Esports has also tapped the services of Filipino Derren “Aimix” dela Cruz as an assistant coach.
Juan commended the core roster’s chemistry and clear communications building up from Stage 1 that he credited as pivotal in their win.
“We have a very high [skill] ceiling but we also have a very low [skill floor]. So, I think it’s just like now we know that we can do it, especially with that comeback, [and] proud of the boys that we pulled that through,” he said.
Facing a 2-10 deficit in the second half, a firm defensive round win on pistols gave GE room to work out a 4-1 run closing out. Patrick “PatMen” Mendoza and Go eviscerated RRQ on a two-on-five situation to trim the gap to six.
With RRQ on map point, GE answered back with an almost flawless win on Round 19, following up with five unanswered rounds to send the game into overtime.
Juan’s heroics finally turned the tide as he nipped Batorov in a duel to lift Global Esports to series point in Round 29. The squad picked off the Indonesians in the following round to complete the sweep.
Moving forward, Zhou emphasized on working on their playstyle, zooming in to multiple round losses where they had the advantage in player count.
“We need to improve in some of those ‘man up’ situations,” he said. He pointed out their short preparations coming off their Esports World Cup stint before the start of Stage 2.
“I think that will be better moving forward or that’s where we’re trying to focus on,” the coach said.
Team standings
Global Esports is currently holding second place in Group Alpha, leading Full Sense at third through round difference. Both sported a 1-0 record. Gen.G occupies the top seed with a 2-0 slate.
RRQ and Japan’s Zeta Division were in fourth and fifth, respectively, after going winless in their opening assignments. In last place was Nongshim Redforce with back-to-back losses.
In Group Omega, Team Secret closed out the week with a commanding 2-0 win over Korean powerhouse Kiwoom DRX (KRX) last July 19.
Following their loss in their opening fixture against Varrel, TS bounced back in strong fashion with a 13-4 rout in Sunset and finishing the series in Haven, 13-7.
Rookie duelist Jhian “Zeus” Vega pulled off an impressive Neon performance with 36 eliminations across two maps accompanied by a series-high 257 ACS.
With the retirement of tenured team captain Jessie “JessieVash” Cuyco, the Manila-based team went through a major roster shake-up. It released Rizkie “BerserX” Kusuma and Filipino duelist Dwine “Rimuru” Enriquez but signed Indonesian sentinel player Jonathan “naTz” Adiputra and Singaporean IGL Tidus “Styron” Wei.
TS gave the coaching reins to former Global Esports coach Peter “Spin” Bradford, who was joined by Felipe “skyeSG” Lim in the new lineup.
“[It] was an excellent game,” said Bradford after their win against Kiwoom DRX. “We had a strong gameplan coming in, the boys executed pretty much flawlessly, as Styron, our IGL, was able to adapt throughout the game.”
Teamwork
TS outclassed its Korean counterparts in early round executions. It managed 24 first kills against KRX’s 13 despite the latter’s aggressive team composition that utilizes three duelists.
The tactician was all smiles with the players gelling together despite the short preparation time and Stage 2. “Really we haven’t had the team out together for a very long [time], so building that team culture, team cohesion is still a major priority,” he said.
TS hit the ground running to start the series, sprinting to a 5-0 lead at Sunset and closing out the half with a comfortable 8-4 lead.
Grabbing the pistol round on their attacking side, the APAC quintet overwhelmed the Korean squad with a 5-0 round surge to draw first blood. TS replicated their hot start in Haven, collecting five consecutive rounds for a 7-5 advantage at halftime.
On Round 13, Young-sub “Sylvan” Ko single-handedly took down three KRX players in a clutch situation to bring the momentum to TS’ side, firing up a 5-1 run to lift themselves to series point, 12-6.
The lead was too much for KRX to bear as Team Secret swooped in with a defusal win at A site in the 20th round to secure their first win of Stage 2.
Filipino flex player Kelly “kellyS” Sedillo showed optimism with how the team is shaping up toward the tail end of this season.
“There’s a lot of potential for this team, like a high [skill] ceiling and I believe in all of the players and I believe in the coaching and I think we are heading in the right direction,” Sedillo said.
Bradford echoed the same sentiments, citing the win as a major boost for the team’s confidence, especially coming off a narrow loss against Varrel. “This win today is a huge step for us. […] We play like that and we win in that dominant fashion, it gives the boys so much confidence that that’s the way to play.”
Group Omega
Team Secret and KRX hold identical 1-1 records in Group Omega, with the former having the head-to-head advantage to sit at third.
VARREL and T1 were in first and second spots, respectively, with 1-0 slates with Paper Rex and DetonatioN FocusMe in fifth and last place with opening losses.
The top two of each group after the round-robin phase will advance directly to the Stage 2 playoffs. The top teams head straight to the Upper Bracket semifinals while the second-best will advance to the first round of the Upper Bracket.
The remaining teams will proceed to the play-ins for the four playoff spots in a double-elimination bracket alongside four other teams coming from the Challengers stage.
